Everyone has always hounded me because I buy the best for my cars, and still use cheap radios for the most part. I've owned and borrowed expensive radios, but to me they take the fun out of driving. I ended up messing with the radio more than driving my cars. Now I generally use RTR radios or whatever is laying around just to get out and play! I was no better of a driver with a $300 radio than I am with a $50 radio. I had a buddy say he couldn't run one day because his lipo was dead in his $400 radio and he didn't have his charger. I've been using the same AAs in mine for weeks! Have fun! It's a hobby! Just work on adjusting to whatever you have.